Within organizations that rely on Salesforce’s cloud-based services, Salesforce administrators play a vital role. They must not only ensure the Salesforce setup is aligned with the organization’s broader needs; they’re often in charge of double-checking the leads and other data imported into the platform, as well as optimizing various Salesforce tools’ performance.
According to Lightcast, which collects and analyzes job-posting data from across the country, the median salary for a Salesforce administrator is $85,646. The number of Salesforce administrator roles could also grow 12.7 percent over the next 10 years, which is no doubt assuring for anyone who wants to specialize in Salesforce tools and skills for a living.
But which skills do Salesforce administrators actually need to succeed in the role? Let’s break it down.
Necessary Skills
Lightcast lists to following as “necessary skills” for a Salesforce administrator position—i.e., numerous employers want candidates skilled in at least some of the following:
- Data Management
- Technical Support
- Customer Service
- System Administration
- Data Quality
- Change Management
- Administrative Functions
- Process Improvement
- Scrum
- Technical Writing/Editing
This certainly makes sense: anyone working with Salesforce in an administrative capacity should understand the fundamentals of data management (and quality), customer service, and process improvement. Knowledge of Scrum is always useful insofar as it will potentially help you manage the teams that rely on Salesforce.
If you’re just starting out with anything Salesforce-related, make sure to visit Trailhead, which is Salesforce’s learning portal. Trailhead features several “trails,” including data management, software testing, and cybersecurity.
Defining Skills
Next come the “defining skills,” which Lightcast defines as the day-to-day skills that Salesforce administrators need to fulfill their tasks to the best of their ability. As you might expect, nearly all the skills in this tier are very Salesforce-specific:
- Salesforce
- Salesforce Administration
- Salesforce Development
- Salesforce Platform Skills
- Business Process
- Project Management
- Salesforce Lightning
- Salesforce Sales Cloud
- Salesforce Service Cloud
As you learn Salesforce administrator skills, always keep in mind that many employers will want candidates to have a collection of Salesforce certifications, such as Salesforce Certified Administrator and Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant. Many hiring managers and recruiters see these certifications as the ultimate way to verify a tech professional’s Salesforce-related skills.
Distinguishing Skills
Next come Lightcast’s “distinguishing skills,” which are defined as the advanced skills that Salesforce administrators can use to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. As you’ll note, some of these skills aren’t focused on specific Salesforce products; tools like Tableau and Marketo can help a Salesforce administrator provide additional levels of workflow automation and insight.
- Data Migration
- AppExchange
- Tableau
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud
- Marketo
- Extraction Transformation and Loading (ETL)
Whatever skills you learn, make sure you list them on your resume when applying for any Salesforce administrator position; in addition, you’ll also want the “Experience” section of your resume to show how you’ve used those skills to help organizations achieve their Salesforce-related needs.
Related Salesforce Administrator Jobs Resources:
